Sidekick-Through

AnimalBW

From Beast, one leg extends out to the side and kicks through underneath the body while the opposite arm streamlines overhead, then returns to base. Builds hip external rotation control and single-arm loading.

Demo: Animal Flow

Sets

3

Reps

5-6 per side

Rest

1 min

Contraindications

Avoid with hip impingement or acute wrist pain.

Setup

Start in Beast position, knees hovering off the floor.

Execution

  1. 1Lift one leg and streamline the same-side arm overhead
  2. 2Look down toward the base foot to check for a 90-degree angle between toes and fingers
  3. 3Drop the heel of the kicking leg and lower the hip toward the ground
  4. 4Kick the leg through with the ankle flexed, knee straight, hip externally rotated
  5. 5Push through the grounded hand ('push the gas') to return to Beast

Key cues

  • Look for the 90-degree angle between base foot and base hand before kicking
  • Toes pointed, knee locked, hip turned out on the kicking leg
  • Streamline the free arm overhead, don't let it flail
  • Push the gas to drive back to Beast

Common faults

  • Skipping the foot-drop setup and kicking with poor base
  • Bent knee on the kicking leg
  • Collapsing the supporting shoulder
  • Rushing the return instead of controlling it back to Beast

Tweaks

  • Practice the foot-drop setup alone before adding the kick
  • Slow the kick-through tempo for control
  • Add a front kick-through variation for variety

Regressions

Progressions

Muscles

Primary: Hip Abductors, Obliques, Shoulders

Secondary: Glutes, Core

Notes

Distinguished from the standard Kick-Through by the sideways trajectory of the kicking leg.

Sources

Attribution: Mike Fitch / Animal Flow